Caleb looked at the others. “Let’s go, but don’t let your guards down.”

He led them down the passageway to the chamber at the end. The room was similar in size and shape to Thordr’s safe room, except this one was rougher and obviously natural, not carved or smoothed by hand or lava. A fire burned in one corner, and a burning torch was wedged into a crack in the wall on the other side. Wood and logs littered the floor, and a tarp lay in the center, with a pack like Spence’s lying on it.

Tom introduced himself as he shook each of their hands. He then sat on a thick piece of wood against the wall at the far edge of the tarp, laying his bow and quiver of arrows in front of him. “Pull up a log and have a seat.”

The others grabbed various pieces of wood and sat in a rough semicircle in front of Tom. Spence struck his staff on the ground and extinguished the light. Caleb sheathed his sword, and Trey and Morgan slung their weapons on their backs. Spence kept his staff in his hands before him, with the butt resting on the floor.

“So, where are you from? I mean, on Earth,” Tom said. Tom appeared to be in his mid-forties. He had unkempt black hair and a shabby, thick beard, both clearly results of living in the wild for a while. His face was tanned dark and weathered. He wore a studded leather vest with a black shirt underneath sticking out from the sleeves, black pants, and knee-high boots.

“Colorado,” Caleb said. “We were on a school trip in Sedona, Arizona, when we encountered what we thought was a vortex. And the next thing we know, we were fighting a half-wolf, half dinosaur.”

“Ah, classic. We began with something resembling a porcupine the size of an RV. It launched spear-length quills. Luckily, we only lost one in that battle. I shot arrows through both eyes and into its brain while another guy hacked and stabbed it with a sword.” Tom leaned against the wall with his hands behind his head. “How did just you four come to the vortex?”

“I think we all just heard or felt like a humming or buzzing sound and followed it to the source. Morgan said it was the energy from the vortex,” Spence said. He had wondered about how they were the only four out of the class to end up there. “Maybe we were the only ones that felt it.”

“So, the gods somehow influenced and chose us four on earth?” Morgan asked.

“Sounds like it,” Spence replied.

“Interesting,” Tom said.

“Tell us your story,” Caleb said.

“Where to begin….” Tom closed his eyes for a few seconds. “I was on a business flight on a chartered Cessna, flying from Los Angeles to San Francisco. We flew straight through an intense electrical storm, and the winds and turbulence were crazy. We lost one engine, and the pilot announced he would try to crash land in the ocean. Well, we never hit the water. It felt as if a tornado had sucked the plane in or hyperdrive from a science fiction movie. The next thing I know, six of us awakened lying on the ground. The plane was gone, and we weren’t in the ocean…or California.”

“Missing flight 1603!” Spence exclaimed.

“We made national news?” Tom asked.

“All over it,” Spence replied, recalling the story's details.

“Oh, God! They didn’t find our bodies, did they?”

“Nope. They never found the bodies or the plane. They said the plane was so small and the ocean so deep that if the batteries in the black box went dead, it could take years to find, if it ever was.”

“Well, hopefully, that means I’m still alive, and this isn’t hell. I’ve wondered about that a lot since being here.”

Spence had never considered that alternative. He shuddered at the thought.

“There were six of you?” Caleb asked.

“Well, for a few minutes. We saw the giant porcupine around the time we had all gained our feet and most of our senses. We were on a stone dais in the middle of an arena. A statue stood in the center, and six pillars stacked with piles of gear were spaced around the edges. We all scrambled to gather weapons. But we were all middle-aged businesspeople: four men and two women. We didn’t know what we were doing. Luckily, I had bow-hunted a little before, and another guy had some martial arts training. I grabbed the bow, and he picked a sword. And, as I’ve already told you, we managed to slay it.”

“And then the statue spoke to you?” Morgan asked.

“Yep.”

“Argos, the Forbidden Forest, and Desolate Peaks?” Spence asked.

“I see you’ve played the game too. Yeah, we lost one fighting a fire-breathing lizard in the Barrens. Then a giant snake in the Forbidden Forest claimed another.”

“Then there were three left?” Trey asked.

“Yeah. Marty and Brenda decided to hole up at the edge of the Peaks. She had injured her leg in a bad fall, and he didn’t want to leave her. I think they had something going between them too. So, I left them there and set out on my own.”

“What happened to them?” Caleb asked.

“I’m assuming they were killed somehow, if you haven’t heard about them, and I haven’t seen them.”

“The wolfosaurus,” Spence said, recalling Thordr’s words. “Thordr said it killed two people and then headed to the Barrens. Then we faced it in the arena.”

“Ah.”

“Then what did you do?” Morgan asked.

“I was tired of playing. I decided not to seek out Thordr and Kaldrfell. From meetings with the other races in their secret places, I assumed the gods couldn’t see in most of the caves. There are a lot of caves in these mountains, so I figured this area would be easier to survive in than others. I live in one cave for a while and then scout around a little at night until I find another. Their night vision must be limited. Oh, they’ve sent a monster or two to find me, but I manage to escape or kill them,” Tom said matter-of-factly.

“How long have you been in Nibiru?” Spence asked.

“Nibiru?” Tom said.

“Yeah. This world. That’s what the statue, Enki, called it,” Spence replied.

“Interesting.”

“What’s interesting?” Spence asked.

“When the statue spoke to us, it identified itself as Odin. And it called this world Asgard.”

“Asgard?” Spence exclaimed. “The mythical home of Odin and the Norse gods.” His mind reeled, trying to understand the implications.

“So, the gods each have different names for this world?” Morgan said.

“It would seem so,” Spence replied. “Enki spoke to us, and he called this world his home planet’s name of Nibiru. Odin spoke to Tom, calling it Asgard, for his home world.”

The five were quiet for a moment. “I wonder if a different god meets each group of questers? And each god calls this world his own? Artemis would be Mount Olympus. I’m not sure what Ra’s home world is, though,” Spence said.

“History nerd doesn’t know something?” Trey said.

“I know you’re an idiot,” Spence retorted.

“You know, come to think of it, none of the races' leaders referred to this world as Nibiru. They answered our questions about it, but they didn’t call it by any name,” Caleb said.

“Strange. But I don’t suppose anything should surprise us here. To answer your question, it’s hard to say. I guess a month or two. I hunt and trap enough animals to stay alive. I’ve found some of the local vegetation is edible too. I also had the rations from the rest of the party as they died off.”

“What’s your plan?” Caleb asked.

“To stay alive for now, and I’ve been hoping to find the next party. Although, the gods are getting tricky with trying to convince you to kill me. They must not like people not playing along with their games.” Tom rose briefly and threw another stick on the fire. “Now, tell me how you’ve managed to get all four of you to this point.”